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A 50-year-old man has been sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison, and the remainder of his life sentence served under license, for the murder of Northern Ireland prison officer Adrian Ismay in 2016.
Judge Gerry McAlinden told the Belfast Crown Court, while convicting Christopher Robinson of the murder, that “the defendant played an important and integral role in the planning and execution of the terrorist operation that resulted in the death of Mr. Ismay” .
Ismay, a 52-year-old married father of three, died 11 days after sustaining serious leg injuries when the Semtex bomb exploded under his van shortly after he drove away from his home in East Belfast.
The New IRA claimed to have carried out the attack on the longtime officer.
Ismay was released from the hospital after the blast and had made good progress, but died unexpectedly less than two weeks later when a blood clot triggered a heart attack.
He had worked at the Hydebank Wood Young Offenders’ Center in South Belfast, where he trained new recruits for the Prison Service.
After the explosive was detonated under his vehicle, fragments of shrapnel entered the driver’s compartment and he suffered serious leg injuries requiring surgery.
Initially, he appeared to recover well and was released from the hospital.
He suddenly deteriorated and was readmitted to the hospital and then died of a heart attack following a DVT thrombosis.
The judge said: “I have no doubt that the defendant knew in advance the nature of the attack that was to be carried out.
“The defendant knew that this bomb attack, if successful, would result in the death of Mr. Ismay or the infliction of serious injuries on Mr. Ismay and this was the intended outcome of his actions.”
Justice McAlinden added: “His murder was perpetrated in compliance with a twisted Republican terrorist ideology.
“In our troubled society, prison officers and police officers have been regularly attacked at home and off duty simply because in those settings they are seen as easier targets.
“In such circumstances, the need for deterrence cannot be less acute and obvious.”
He said that Mr. Ismay was killed by placing an improvised explosive device under his vehicle that was parked outside his home.
Judge McAlinden said Robinson searched the Internet for information about the magnetic permeability of aluminum before the device was attached to the truck.
He was intimately involved in attacking him for a long period of time.
The defendant verified the online profile of his target, as well as the opening hours of a supermarket near where he lived.
The judge said he knew in advance what kind of attack was going to take place.
“He had an intimate role in securing, making available, facilitating, use, and going unnoticed by adding a poppy decal to the vehicle used to transport the bomb and the bomber who placed the bomb on the underside of Mr. . the scene.”
The judge said he drove the vehicle on the night of the attack to transport another person involved in the attack through Belfast before and after the attack.
Judge McAlinden said the defendant knowingly took steps to minimize the chances that his “intimate and inextricable” involvement would be discovered by turning off his mobile phone at certain times, erasing entries from his memory, and putting the SIM card and battery out of reach. from the police. .
He also arranged with his brother to have the CCTV disconnected at a nearby shelter and configured the system to “drastically reduce” the image retention period.
He told detectives “blatant and obvious” lies as part of a pre-prepared statement to police during the interview.
The judge said that he did not show an iota of remorse for the suffering inflicted on Mr. Ismay and his family.
He read witness statements from Ismay’s widow, Sharon, and two of his daughters before sentencing.
He said: “These three statements are heartbreaking in the way they managed with dignity (reserve) to convey how deeply they loved Mr. Ismay and how intensely he loved and actually adored them.
“Each of these statements, in their individual and eloquent way, reminds me of the absolutely devastating impact that Mr. Ismay’s death has had, not only on them but on other members of the family.”
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